An especially promising aspect of Craik’s research is its potential to also lead to a new treatment for the cytomegalovirus (CMV), a related herpes virus that can lead to pneumonia and gastrointestinal, retinal and neurological diseases in infants and in transplant recipients and other immunocompromised individuals.

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A successful new CMV treatment would be “huge,” said Craik, who is also affiliated with the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) located at UCSF's Mission Bay campus. “Currently, there are very few treatments for CMV. If you don’t respond to them or can’t tolerate them, there’s nothing else to offer you.”

The immediate target of Craik’s prospective medication is Kaposi’s sarcoma herpes virus (KSHV) protease, an enzyme that cleaves proteins, Craik explains. Viruses, including HIV, use proteases to reproduce and to promote infection.